Life of Christ

The Life of Christ

Lesson 10

John’s Testimony about Christ

Jesus began His ministry by turning water into wine, showing people the truth – that He was God in flesh. No human being can turn water into wine without mixing it with other materials. Water is composed of two elements – oxygen and hydrogen – while wine is composed of three – oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. Is it difficult for Jesus, Who created Heaven and earth, to create carbon and thereby turn water into wine? To God this is a simple and easy miracle. Jesus performed it before His disciples so that they would believe on Him, and they did.

After this miracle Jesus began to focus on His individual work of winning souls. In other words, He focused on the birth from above. He had spoken with people individually. The first record that we have of this kind of ministry is found in John 3. Jesus was speaking with a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader of the Jews. We notice that throughout Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, He limited Himself to the subject of the Son of Man Who came down from Heaven to die on the cross so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized” (John 3:22). “And therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) he left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee” (John 4:1-3). Another translation of this verse reads, “And therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made disciples and baptized more than John” (John 4:1). We see that Jesus made disciples first and then baptized them. Whoever heard the words of Jesus and believed on Him and His words received everlasting life. Whoever receives everlasting life should then be baptized. That is what John the Baptist said about Jesus when he was approached. “And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that Believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:26-36). In these verses there are many rich parts that prove that Jesus is from above, that is Heaven, and therefore above all. John the Baptist considered himself earthly and therefore spoke of the earth, while Jesus was from above – from Heaven – and therefore above all. After John had spoken of Jesus, he said, “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (John 3:34b). God did not send His Spirit in Jesus’ body as a container or measuring cup. Jesus is much more than a container for the Spirit of God, for “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” The prophet Isaiah said, “I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. From the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me” (Isaiah 48:12b, 13, 16b). Who is He Who can say, “From the time that [the Lord God] was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me”?

Jesus, Who came down from and is in Heaven, has been since the Father has been in Heaven. That is, Jesus has no beginning, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit have no beginning. There is one God, not three; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one God. That is why Jesus said to His apostles, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus did not say, “baptizing them in the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” but He said “in the name.” This proves that God is one. “For there is none other [than the] name [of Jesus] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12b). God the Savior, the Forgiving, and the Merciful is all one name of God, not three names. That name is Jesus; whenever anything is done, the name of the only God needs to be declared, and that name is Jesus. Jesus taught His disciples, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23). Jesus is from above and above all. John the Baptist said, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). God announced to John the Baptist some of the secrets that Jesus’ disciples did not know at that time. John the Baptist knew that Jesus was from Heaven, that He was above all, and that He was the Son of God Who would die like a lamb to take away the sin of the world – the sin of Adam and all other sins. He also knew that all things had been given into His hand. The most important thing that he knew was that anyone who believes in Him has everlasting life. About 2000 years later, many people still do not know that the secret to eternal life is found in Godly truth. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” Some people say that works save. Priests advise keeping the Ten Commandments and always taking communion. Others advise kneeling down, praying, and fasting. Still others say that if one can walk on fire he has everlasting life. Others advise living as a monk, while others advise living an ascetic life, wherein men never see women and women never see men. However, John the Baptist knew more than these ignorant counselors; he said, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” He continued, “And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

Dear reader, you have the freedom to believe or not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. If you were to refuse to believe on the Son, you would not see everlasting life or the face of God. If you have refused to accept Him on earth when He came in flesh, how can He accept you in Heaven in glory and holiness? If you do not believe on the Son, the wrath of God will abide on you. God’s wrath has been sparked on everybody, for the Bible says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Jesus said to Nicodemus, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

John the Baptist understood that Jesus was the bridegroom and that the Church was the bride. He considered himself the friend of the bridegroom. Jesus said of John the Baptist, “Verily, I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). John the Baptist is the greatest among those born of women, but less great than the least in the kingdom of Heaven. The least in the Church is greater than John the Baptist, who is the greatest of those born of women. Who is the least in the Church or in the kingdom of Heaven? Whoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and gives his heart to Jesus after believing (or in the other words accepts Jesus in his heart), becomes a Son of God. As the apostle Peter said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:3-4). This means that believers become washed in the blood of Christ. After being born again, they are baptized in joy. They have entered the kingdom and Heaven and have become members of a church led by a pastor and deacons who obey the Word of God. Anyone who refuses Christ and the Word of God does not have a portion in the Kingdom of God. That is why Peter said that the new birth from above (that is from Heaven) is an incorruptible inheritance that is undefiled and does not fade away – it is pure. The everlasting life that Jesus gives is eternal; nobody defiles it or causes it to fade away. For this reason Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Notice these valuable words: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” Water symbolizes the Holy Spirit here; whoever drinks of the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) does not ever thrist. “But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Is the Holy Spirit springing out of your life forever? If you have received this spring, you would be able to recognize it as a spring. The presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life proves that one is a child of God. That is why the Bible says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

Believe on the Son and accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and you will have eternal life. Whoever believes in Him does not perish but has everlasting life. Jesus’ life differs drastically from the life of all human beings who have lived on this earth. He is the only one who lived a life of holiness on this earth. He lived what He preached. He said, “whosoever shall smite thee on they right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). He also said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). When He was crucified He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

John the Baptist came to testify that Jesus was the Son of God and the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. His testimony, described in John 3:27-36, is one of the most powerful testimonies that teach that Jesus is from Heaven. It also shows that He and God are one because God does not give His Spirit by measure. God knew that people would deny Jesus’ deity and say that the Spirit of God in Jesus was given by measure, and that Jesus’ value consisted only in His being a prophet like any others with no message but the performing of miracles. Therefore, God caused John the Baptist to speak of these essential truths. He inspired John the Beloved to record them to silence whoever dares declare that Jesus is like any other prophet. He said, “God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (John 3:34b). If Jesus had been a container or measuring cup for God to use as He did any of the other prophets, He would have caused Jesus to remain on earth like all the prophets who died and whose bones are still here on earth. All prophets, without exception, are still in their graves; only one of them arose from the dead on the third day – Jesus Christ. For this reason we know that God did not use Jesus’ body as a container or measuring cup only to then send His body to be corrupted in a tomb and become soil and bones. Jesus’ body did not see corruption in death; His earthly body was transported and became a heavenly body in three days. We have studied Jesus’ words about His body: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He was speaking of His body. When He died on the cross and was placed in the tomb, He rebuilt the body that the Jews had destroyed in three days and raised it up glorious and heavenly. Jesus’ body was not a container for the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of God without beginning. That is why Paul the apostle said, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:19). The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews also said, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). God also inspired the writer of the epistle to write, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, and when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person. If Jesus had been created, that would have meant that the brightness of God’s glory was created. This would mean that God Himself was created, and that is impossible. God is without beginning and so is the brightness of His glory.

Therefore, every human beings needs to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is without beginning, that He was incarnated, that Mary became pregnant with Him through the Holy Spirit, and that He performed miracles that showed that He was God in flesh (that is Immanuel, which means “God is with us”) by arising from the dead and raising up Lazarus from the dead after he had spent four days in the tomb. Who can raise a dead man four days after his death but the One Who is equal to God? After four days a dead man’s body has begun to rot, but Jesus as God in flesh is able to do anything. He said, “Lazarus, come forth,” and Lazarus immediately arose form the dead, proving that Jesus was not a container for the Spirit of God but God in flesh. You might agree that Jesus is from the Spirit of God, but do you not realize that God is a Spirit? This means that God, Who is a Spirit, is omnipresent; He has always been in the heavenly glories and He came down and dwelled in Jesus Christ. Since God’s Spirit cannot be divided, Jesus is God in flesh. Whoever believes in Him does not perish but has everlasting life. He was the One Who died on the cross to forgive sins, and He defeated death and the grave. Whoever believes in Jesus will not see eternal death, but will rest with Jesus after he dies; wear a glorious, heavenly body after the resurrection; and live with God eternally. Whoever refuses Jesus will have the wrath of God abide on him forever; he will never see the kingdom of God or have everlasting life, but will have eternal death and agony in the lake of fire and brimstone. Believe on Him today and He will cast fear out of your heart. When you believe on Him you will begin to fear God and stop fearing people. Believe on Him and you will have everlasting life.

Questions:

When Jesus turned water into wine, what element did He create?
Did Jesus baptize or make disciples first?
Did John the Baptist consider Jesus a normal prophet?
Did John the Baptist consider Himself as having descended from Heaven?
Did John the Baptist consider Jesus as having descended from Heaven?
Did God use Jesus as a container or measuring cup?
Why did the Father give all things into Jesus’ hand?
Who said, “From the time that it was, there am I”?
Is Jesus without beginning?
Is there one God or are there three? Prove your answer.
Who receives eternal life?
Compare John the Baptist’s opinion with those of ignorant men.
Who is the greatest among those born of women?
Who is the least in the Church?
Does the inheritance of the second birth ever get defiled or fade away?
What happens to the water that Jesus gives?
Can a person who has received the spring of the Holy Spirit in his life recognize it? Prove your answer with a verse.
How many prophets rose from the dead and never saw bodily corruption?
Did Jesus rise from the dead on the third day?
Who is the brightness of God’s glory?
Who is Immanuel (“God is with us”)?
Whom did Jesus raise from the dead after he had been in a tomb for four days?